Darker Than Shadows
by TigerGirl1959
Summary: Someone's out to get the Thunderman's, and Phoebe's the first target. Max can keep his cool under the most stressful of situations -however- when something happens to HIS Phoebe, a deeper, dangerous, tainted power emerges from within him. Can Max protect Phoebe and his "family," or will he end up driving them away with his new power? Rated M 4later Max/Phoebe. Dark themes! AUish
1. Chapter 1

Summary; Someone's out to get the Thunderman's, and Phoebe's the first target. Now Max can keep his cool under the most stressful of situations -however- when something happens to HIS Phoebe, a deeper, dangerous, tainted power emerges from within him. Can Max protect Phoebe and his "family," or will he end up driving them away with his new power? Will Max become the one to destroy the Thunderman's? Especially when he learns the truth about his power? Tainted/Max. Hurt/Phoebe. Rated M. Slight Thundercest. Max/Phoebe.

**WARNINGS; **(suggested) Rape! Rated M. Slight incest. Max/Phoebe. New powers. DARK THEME. Slow starter.**_ (PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU'RE UNDERAGE...though most of you probably are anyway) -_-_**

Darker Than Shadows...Prologue; Just A Dream?

It was dark. Un-naturally so, Phoebe found as she walked down a pebble covered path which was a few blocks from home. It was cold, too. And she was seriously regretting only going out in a light orange dress - her small -summer-style- over coat did little to keep her warm as she wondered on, her heels were the only things that could be heard over the blistering winds that flowed through the city at night.

Tucking a small piece of her long, soft brown coloured hair behind her ear, Phoebe pulled the pure white over-coat closer to her chest in a poor attempt to bring more warmth. It didn't work as another strong gust of wind blew into her, making Phoebe dither. Why she had agreed to go to that stupid party, she didn't know. Max had told her it would be lame, yet she begged her parents to let her go, and after however long, they had finally agreed. Phoebe had stuck her tongue out at Max in victory, but now she couldn't help but think that the party would have been far more interesting if Max had actually been there.

Yep. It was THAT lame. Even for her.

Shaking her head to herself, Phoebe focused on making some sort of excuse for her early arrival home to tell Max, so he didn't give her "the look." The look that, though cute (and extremely annoying), simply said; I TOLD YOU SO. Then again, knowing Max, he was more than likely asleep already.

She smiled to herself at the thought of her brother. Was it wrong that her heart fluttered whenever she thought about him? She knew it was. It was really wrong. Yet she couldn't stop the thoughts of her brother from entering her head no matter how hard she tried. The idiot had filled most of her beloved diary pages, too.

With a sigh, Phoebe was about to turn down the road that led to her home when she heard something. Snapping her head back, Phoebe frowned at the blackness that followed her, unable to see anything there. It was only then that she realised no one else was around. _'Strange...for a city.'_ She thought before carrying on, a quickness added to her steps.

"...Phoebe..."

A chill ran down her spin as she heard a voice that seemed familiar, yet she couldn't quite put her finger on where she recognised it from. Turning around, Phoebe once again tried to see what - or who- was there as the night seemed to get even darker and cold, but she couldn't see anything.

"Okay. Who's there?!" She snapped. Not liking this one bit. "Max, if that's you then just -"

"Phoebe."

Hearing the voice boom out from right behind her, the dark haired Thunderman squealed loudly as she turned back around, tripping over her own feet before landing on the ground harshly with a yelp. There was a tall man standing before her; it was not Max.

"What do you want?" Phoebe asked, her eyes wide with fear. Something was seriously not right here. From the corner of her eye, Phoebe saw the shadows swoop around her, covering both her and the man standing over her. Needle like edges emerged from the shadows, grasping at her skin as it began to run up her clothes, ripping the steams of fabric from her body.

Quickly thinking, Phoebe tried to use her superpowers on the man. Only to have him simply smile down at her as the ice breath bounced off of him.

"Sorry, Phoebe, but that's not gonna work on me." He laughed deeply, scaring her more than she wanted to admit.

"Please, stop!" Phoebe began to wiggle away as the shadow like needles started to rid her body of the remaining clothes upon her, her bra and knickers turned into a pile of rags that settled on the cold, hard ground. "What do you want?!" She frantically tried to cover her naked form, her face bright red with embarrassment.

"You." He said, voice deeper than normal, his eyes turning black as col as he moved forwards.

Phoebe started to kick and scream, hoping for someone to save her from this darkness that swarmed around them, but it was hopeless.

"No one can hear you, Phoebe!" Another laugh. Sickening her. "You might as well just give in. You can't stop me." He clicked his fingers and suddenly the shadows took hold of Phoebe's arms and legs, pinning her down to the ground.

"Let me go!" Phoebe cried out, her eyes allowing tears to fall. She couldn't move. She was trapped.

"Sshhh..." He chuckled, kneeling down in front of her, running a hand up her bare, smooth legs, making Phoebe jolt away -only for the shadows to tighten their hold on her. "It's all going to be okay. You're the chosen one, Phoebe. You should be happy," he paused briefly, undoing his trousers and letting them slid down his legs along with his boxers until they rested by his ankles. Phoebe gulped as a shadow covered her mouth, stopping her words. "You're going to make Max realise his full potential."

With that said, Phoebe cried harder as she was penetrated by this man, her head shooting back in pain as tears continued to roll down her face, one single thought running through her mind - one last thought of hope to keep her sane as pain filled her.

_'Max, HELP!'_

* * *

Max shot up in his bed, a thick layer of cold sweat ran over him as he held his head in pain, panting loudly. "Phoebe?!" Max gripped his head tighter, it felt as though a thousand needles were being pushed into his brain, a small image of Phoebe beaten, bruised and extremely hurt filled his mind.

Staggering out of bed, Max tripped over and fell onto the floor. He made such a clatter that Dr Colosso disturbed from within his cage. "Max, what are you doing?!" He growled in anger of being woken up.

Max ignored him, pushing himself back up as he made his way up stairs, tripping over more times than he was willing to admit. He just about made it up stairs as the front door opened up.

Eyes wide, Max almost choked on his own breath at what he saw.

Phoebe was standing there, bruises all over her beautiful skin. All of her clothes - gone. Her arms, a shade of dark purple thanks to bruising, were trying to cover her exposed body. Slowly, Phoebe looked up, her eyes locking with Max's. Her long hair, that had been blocking her face from view, revealed a busted lip, black eye and blood soaked locks, both eyes blood shot from crying.

A serge of sudden emotion ran through Max, anger and numbness, he didn't even realise that every object within the Thunderman household was now shattering, the lights flickering on and off.

"...Max..." She fell to the floor, crying once more. In less than a second, Max was there, on his knees and bring her into a tight, comforting hug as she cried into his shoulder.

"It's okay, Phoebe." Max tried to comfort her. Still in shock at seeing Phoebe of all people in this state, he glanced at the door, seeing shadows suddenly disappear from view...

**Told ye it was a dark theme story. If you're interested in seeing where this goes, then review! A short little note here, hopefully not to give too much away, but Max and Phoebe aren't actually siblings. They think they are for now, but it turns out they're not. Just to let you know like ;) **


	2. Chapter 2

**Cheers for the reviews, favourites and followers! :D They all mean a lot to me. ;) ...I would also like to mention that, unfortunately (or fortunately), this is the first ever story that I've written which involves a straight couple; Max/Phoebe. So ...Yeah. Bare with me on this one. The _NEXT_ chapter will/should be RATED M. And one more thing that I probably should have mentioned but completely forgot to, if you haven't guest it yet, this is going to be slightly AU. **

**Quick note: Now my writings far from perfect and because I write so late, it's hard to pick up on mistakes and all, so my apologies about all the mistakes! Cheers again! :)**

**Warnings; Slight AU. Mentioned rape! Rated M for later chapters. Max/Phoebe. DARK THEME! New powers/etc...Slow starter. **

Darker Than Shadows...Chapter 1: Lullaby...

Max felt his palms begin to sweat, his hands were balled into tight fists which lay by his side, ready for someone to say the wrong thing to him as he paced back and forth in the oddly abandoned Hospital waiting room; no one but his family were around. Hank _-cough-_ his dad, was sitting quietly in a chair, a seat away from Nora and Billy, who were both sleeping soundly. Max glanced over at them, glaring slightly.

Hank hadn't spoken in ages ever since they had brought Phoebe to the hospital, and though Nora and Billy were smart, well, Nora was - neither truly understood what was happening, or why Phoebe was hurt. Max didn't remember making it to the hospital, all he recalled was grabbing his jacket, covering Phoebe and pulling her close as he made a mad dash towards the hospital, running so fast he could have beaten Billy in a race.

Eyes darting towards the hallway where Phoebe had been taken, their Mom right by her side when she had been placed down on the bed as the doctors took Phoebe away from him. Max hadn't let her go at first, wanting to keep holding her to make sure she would be okay, but Hank had pulled him back as the Doctors pulled Phoebe from his embrace.

_'Phoebe.'_ Max shook his head as the image of Phoebe falling to the floor, bruised and broken, played before his eyes. Max's heart had shattered at that moment. HIS Phoebe had been hurt. Max felt a sudden pain again, needles edging into his brain, just like when he had woken up.

_"Max!"_ Phoebe's voice rang through Max's ears; remembering the sight of his sister - something snapped within him. Max loved Phoebe. More than he should have considering he was her brother, hell, he was still confused about his feelings!

It all began about a year ago, when he started to notice Phoebe a lot more, mostly when she started to get, dare he say it, boyfriends. A deep jealousy would come over him, and thus he and Dr Colosso would set out to get rid of them. Pranks, lies and generally anything he could think of just so he could get them away from HIS Phoebe. And though his sister would be angry at him for the constant pranks and lies, they were the only way he could get close to her... Phoebe meant a lot more to him than he could ever admit.

And then seeing her so hurt...so broken...

"Urgh!" Max stopped pacing along the waiting room floor, stopping with a slight squeak from his trainers on the waxed ground.

Anxiety crawled into the depths of his stomach, he could feel his nerves tingle in an un-natural way as though they were being tickled by a small feather. His heart was pounding in his chest, he hissed as his head started to thump as though his skull had been smashed into tiny pieces and his breathing started to go swallow as his eyes burned.

Gripping his head once more, Max felt his vision go blurry, a sudden rage bubbling up deep within him and a ringing in his ears bleared out. The lights that were in the hallway began to flicker on and off, shadows which had married the floor began to creep towards him-

"Guys...?"

Breathing in deeply, Max looked up and saw his Mom standing there by the doorway with the Doctor by her side.

Getting some composure, Max looked around the waiting room, Hank was watching him with weary eyes while Nora and Billy were slowly beginning to disturb from slumber. Running a hand over his face, Max focused on Barb who was still standing next to the doctor.

With in a split second, both Hank and Max were there, wanting to know how Phoebe was. Billy, now awake, went to get closer, only to be held back by Nora who shook her head at him.

"How's Phoebe?!" Both Max and Hank said in sync.

"Oh, Hank!" Barb wiped her teary eyes, her face in a permanent frown as she sobbed.

"...Mom?" Max had an extremely bad feeling take him by the throat as Barb ran towards Hank and hugged him, trying not to cry.

Not getting any information from his mother, Max turned towards the doctor, who looked sadly back at him and his dad.

"Phoebe is fine," she said slowly. "But..."

"-But?" Max raised an eyebrow, anxious to find out how Phoebe was.

The doctor turned towards Hank. "I'm afraid Phoebe was sexually assaulted, she has minor injuries, but she-"

Max zoned out after hearing those words. Sexually assaulted? Phoebe had been sexually assaulted? His Phoebe? No way...Phoebe was too careful, she wouldn't have got into that sort of situation, she wouldn't...She wouldn't have just gone home with someone! She would have called him...Wouldn't she?

"Max?" Snapping out of his train of thought, Max looked back towards Barb.

"Huh?"

"We all need to talk," Barb said as she turned to the doctor. "Doc?"

The tall, blonde haired doctor nodded a little. "Of course. I'll go check on Phoebe and see if she's awake now." With that said, she strolled off. Max watched her back like a lost puppy, wanting to go check on his "twin," however, his arm was grabbed by his mother.

"Barb, what is it?" Hank asked, more concerned than Max had ever seen him before. The concern radiating from him even started to worry Nora and Billy who both slowly moved towards them all.

"Did Phoebe say something?!" Max, once again, was right there, wanting -needing- to know.

Barb nodded, pulling Nora and Billy closer as Hank hugged her. "Whoever attacked her...Phoebe couldn't use her powers against them. None of her powers worked..." She whispered the last part and barely anyone could think of anything to say as the information sunk in deep. Max fell into a chair. He needed to see Phoebe. Yet the only thing he could do was await the doctors return...

* * *

Max was sure she had forgotten them. In fact, he was positive the doctor had forgotten about them. Barb was trying to explain what had happened to Phoebe to Billy and Nora, Hank was looking more distort as time went on, and Max...Well, Max was trying to keep it together. Someone must have done...**_That_**...to Phoebe, and as Max sat in the very un-comfortable hospital chair, fingers tangled together as his knuckles rest against his forehead in a semi-like crouch position - it was someone who Max would find...

"Right." Max looked up towards the wing where Phoebe's room was located. "I'm breaking in."

With his parents distracted, and practically no staff about as they were all tending to patients, Max easily sneaked through the double doors. Stalking down the hallway, Max turned the corner and saw Phoebe's doctor slowly closing a door. He wasn't sure how he knew, but somehow, Max could tell that Phoebe was in that room. Looking up, Max saw a camera that seemed to be permanently on that door, only turning away now and then.

Grumbling to himself, Max used his Telekinesis and turned the camera so it pointed down the other side of the hallway, turning to the doctor who was currently looking over her clipboard, Max swiped his fingers into the air and sent the clipboard flying across the shining floor.

"Eh?" The doctor blinked before slowly moving towards the lifeless clipboard upon the ground.

With a smirk of victory, Max made his way to the door, opening it and stepping in quickly before shutting it as quietly as he could. Turning around, Max walked further into the room, turning to the side, he paused as he looked at the body upon the hospital bed - his lips trembled, his voice soft as he spoke the name of the person who had been on his mind for far longer than he could have imagined;

"Phoebe..."

Gingerly, Phoebe looked up, her eyes fluttered open and showed just how puffy and red they were from crying.

"Max," her voice broke as she curled up into a tiny ball, the blankets on the bed holding her frame in a tight bundle.

With the lights from the ceiling shining down on his sister, Max gulped at the sight of her. The bruises were multiple hues, colours that normally should not be on someone's skin, especially not Phoebe's. There were deep purple splotches, roughly the size of a fist that covered her eye, a hand print down her neck that was cut off by the covers. Her hair tied back in a messy bun. Other marks around her face were a more greyish colour, but still looked as bad. Max couldn't see her full body now, but he knew bruises were probably all over her. Lines riddled across her wrists, which were currently holding the blankets up, like something -someone- had dug there nails into her, tearing her flesh.

It was horrible.

"Are you okay?!" Max got closer, stopping suddenly as Phoebe flinched away as he approached. "...Phoebe...?"

Phoebe buried her head in her arms that were keeping her legs together. "I'm not okay, Max."

Moving closer, but making sure not to startle Phoebe this time, Max gently slide onto the bed - slowly wrapping his arms around her as she cuddled into his chest. "I'm sorry..." He said, voice breaking. "I should have been there, I should have protected you, I should have -"

"-Max," Phoebe moved her hand, placing it against his shirt and grasping it with her slim fingers. "Please don't leave me."

Without hesitation, Max replied while pulling Phoebe closer as the word left his mouth. "Never."

* * *

Barb and Hank walked down the hallway of the hospital, following -but giving some distance- behind the doctor who was currently leading them back to Phoebe's room. A un-easy silence between them, both wondering what to say or if it would be the right thing. Yet no matter how much the other wanted to talk, neither could form the words that needed to be said.

Billy and Nora were asleep again, being held up by Hank, who's brow was knotted. "Barb-"

Barb didn't give Hank the chance to finish, cutting him off as she came to a halt. "Phoebe kept telling me that the shadows held her down, luckily the doctors all thought she was just saying that because of what happened to her..." She paused. "But the shadows-"

Hank shook his head, looking down at his wife. "That's impossible, Barb. I destroyed the shadow-clan years ago-" This time, Hank cut himself off as that un-easy silence came back ten fold between them. Both their eyes locked onto the room that the Doctor had led them to. Hank and Barb both knew that a certain family member had sneaked off, it was obvious why, too concerned to wait for the doctor to lead them all there together.

Looking at each other, the Thunderman's opened the door and went inside. The sight that greeted them would have been heart warming, had it been any other situation.

Max and Phoebe were both sound asleep. Phoebe was tightly curled into Max's chest, lying upon him, his arm draped over her protectively as they slept soundly with one another.

Barb and Hank's eyes locked onto their 'son,' who was holding their daughter closely.

"Not all of them..."

**Yep. I know - "Shadow-clan" - not very original, however, giving the title of this little story- it was honestly the best I could think of X) Please review if you want me to continue. Reviews make me write faster, even if they're only one word long! :)**

**Next chapter will/should be Rated M for !_Thundercest_! **


	3. Chapter 3

**Wow. Cheers so much for all of the reviews, followers and favourites! :D Thank you all so much :)**

**Notes; This chapter has been rushed in parts. The reason being is because I'm getting a Puppy this Thursday, an Akita, and I've been making sure the house isn't a total wreck and that anything chewable is out of the way. So my writing was extremely rushed, please forgive me for that. I've had to miss out a few things thanks to this as well with writing late at night. However I have slowed the story down (plot wise), you won't have any _Thundercest _in this chapter. After getting so many lovely reviews from you all, I didn't want to rush that of all things and ruin the story, so I'll be trying to take my time with it. I hope you don't mind. And sorry about all the mistakes! D:**

Darker Than Shadows...Chapter 3: Coming Home...

_Next day._

"Can I go back in now?!" Max asked as he paced back and forth once more, hands on his hips as he strolled along the corridor after being kicked out by his mother, Barb, who was reinforced by Doctors asking to see Phoebe before she was allowed to go home with them. Max had been reluctant, keeping his twin close, only to have the Doctors threaten to have him removed. He figured it would have been better to leave than be forced too. Phoebe hadn't been happy, neither had he, but what could they do?

Hank, Nora and Billy had met him outside, the later two of the three had bombarded him with questions about the wellfare of their sister - to which he answered truthfully - but also gave them a warning to take it easy with Phoebe once she was home. After a few minutes, Barb had came out and told Hank to take the others home before heading back in, Max had went to follow her, only to get a door slammed in his face.

And thus he was stuck pacing around again, hating the feeling, yet what was ten times worst was the fact that he could hear Phoebe crying on the other side of the door. It was heart-breaking to say the least.

"That would be a no," came a cold voice that belonged to a female nurse who was keeping him away from Phoebe. "Once the Doctor is done then -"

"-Then I can go back in and see Phoebe." Max rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you've told me that already."

"Then maybe you should take a sit." She replied with a smug look upon her face.

Glaring, Max shook his head and went to sit down before the door to Phoebe's room opened up. Blinking a few times, Max saw a huddle of his mother and a few doctors talking quietly to themselves, paying him no mind as they walked down the hallway, the stubborn nurse following them - leaving Max to stare back at the door which was slowly closing. Curiosity getting the better of him, he took his chances and walked into the room before the door closed fully.

Glancing around, he was surprised to see no Phoebe. The bed had tangled sheets, tear-stained pillows which held a few long, brown hairs that belonged to Phoebe upon them, and an empty bag of clothing. Looking up, Max tilted his head towards another door within the room, hearing a slight crying noise now and then come from within.

Walking over, Max lifted his fist, hesitant to knock for some unknown reason. Ignoring the feeling, Max gulped in air before knocking as gently as he could. "Phoebe?" He asked quietly but loud enough that she could hear him. "Are you in there?"

After a moment of snuffling tears, the door slowly opened and revealed a upset Phoebe dressed in simple, loose clothing.

"Phoebe-"

Before Max could get his sentence out, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his neck tightly, pulling him close. Phoebe sobbed into his chest and Max wrapped his arms around her even tighter. He could only imagine what the Doctors had asked and done to "check" her over.

"Max...Can we go home now?" She took a deep breath before leaning back into him. "I need to get clean..."

Max moved his arm slightly, lifting Phoebe's face up with his hand as carefully as he could without hurting her.

"Let's go home."

* * *

_(A while later)_

Phoebe groaned quietly as she felt strong, slightly muscular arms wrapped around her, the feeling of being in the air over came her along with the motion of bobbing up and down as if someone was taking her up stairs. Her brow knitted together and a frown took over her mouth, a painful sting shoot from her bottom lip which was obviously busted.

For a moment, Phoebe enjoyed the warmth that was being given to her from whoever was carrying her, she didn't know why, but the feeling of being safe, sound and protected came over her- and she would have loved to stay in that sweet, warm embrace - had the memory of how she got that busted lip not came flooding back. Her breathing hitched loudly, her arms stretched out as she tried to get away from the person who was holding her, legs flaring about as her deep, brown -yet blood-shot- eyes snapped open as she fell down from the embrace.

Her eyes closed on impact.

Landing on a bouncy, but comfortable, mattress that was soft and vaguely familiar, it did little to stop the bruises from hurting her back.

"Phoebe!"

She heard a slight grunt as a weight landed on top of her. The bed dipped either side of her head via, she could only assume, hands. Thighs were close to the outer edge of her own, dipping the mattress even more.

Finally cranking an eye open, Phoebe glanced up with a grimace which was from a mixture of pain and fear, only for her eyes to widen as another, honey-dark coloured pair stared back down at her.

"Max?" Her throat was dry from lack of use. "W-where am I?"

They both looked around, eyes darting from corner to corner, however, Max was the first to answer.

"Your room." Max looked back down, inches from Phoebe's face as they stared at each other. Finally, Max rolled off of her, standing up awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

Phoebe shook her head a little, pulling her legs up onto the bed before tucking a piece of fallen hair behind her ear. "It's okay..." She mumbled, her eyes darkening as she looked down. "How long was I out for?" She asked, not meeting Max's gaze.

Max looked down at Phoebe, trying to make eye contact, but no matter what he did or angle he stood at, it was near impossible. "A few hours. The doctors said you could come home as long as someone stayed with you." Max nodded slightly to his own words. "I didn't want to wake you up so I carried you upstairs..."

"...Thank you."

Max frowned as he watched Phoebe curl into a tight ball again, hearing sniffles come from her down-casted head. Slowly moving over, Max bent down and gently grasped her chin, lifting her head so their eyes connected like they had in the hospital. "Phoebe, it's oka-"

"No it's not, Max!" She cried out. "He touched me. He hurt me, Max~"

"Who hurt you?!" Max almost demanded.

If was as if something snapped, Phoebe's sobs went quiet and she looked into his eyes. Her voice broke into a simple whisper. "...I don't know..."

Max didn't know what to say to that, but couldn't help but feel as though he was partly being lied too, but never spoke of it...

* * *

Phoebe hissed a little as she tried to remove her clothing that the hospital had given her to wear home. She had to have help from her mother to put them on thanks to all of the bruise that married her skin. With a sigh escaping her lips, Phoebe looked towards the steaming bathtub that was filled with welcoming water which she was currently trying to get into, wanting nothing more than to be clean and rid the memories of what happened to her from her mind. Yet that seemed far easier said than done as she was at a stand still. Unable to strip without getting pain through her whole body. Another reminder of just how many, and where, the marks where upon her.

Watching her own footsteps, Phoebe walked towards the door that was connected to her bedroom, her hand grasping the handle and opening it slowly. Peering out, she looked around her room which was empty. Since telling Max she wanted to have a bath, her brother had kindly excused himself in an awkward matter, almost walking into the wall at one point. He had told her that Barb, Nora and Billy had all gone shopping. Upon their return, Max explained that there must have been some sort of earthquake as everything in there home had practically shattered. Thus Hank was cleaning up Thunderman style and Barb and the others were out on a mission of repair.

Phoebe smiled sadly at nothing as she limped into the hallway. Repair. After what happened to her, did she need repairing? Or was she so broken she simply could not be fixed? What if she couldn't be fixed?

Whimpering, Phoebe walked across the hallway, not caring about the shards that were scattered over the floorboards from the supposed earthquake. There was a door nearby that was normally closed, yet today it was still open, as if the occupier was ready just in case they heard anything. Slipping through, Phoebe stepped down a couple of stairs before catching sight of who see was looking for within the lair she had just came into.

Her eyes landed on the dark blue blanket covered bed which held her twin. Max was stretched out, his arms under his head as he stared with an unreadable look up at the ceiling, his body was tense as though he was thinking about something bad.

"Max?"

Within a split second, Max sat up, his eyes landing on Phoebe. "Pheebs?" He used his nick-name for her.

Phoebe looked down shyly, unable to keep his gaze as he cheeks reddened, only now realising the embarrassment of what she was about to ask. "Can you help me?"

* * *

Phoebe felt her entire form burn up as Max, who was currently standing behind her in the bathroom connected to her bedroom, undid her clothes. Max was quick, but gently, moving slowly over the marks that graced her flesh. Though he was careful, it didn't stop his finger from accidently brushing over her skin, sending a shiver down her spine.

"Sorry!" Max winced as he touched a bruise on Phoebe's neck. She closed her eyes tightly, ignoring the sting as her top was lifted over her head and dropped to the floor. Leaving her with her bra still on. She listened, knowing Max had paused in hesitation, unsure of whether he should take off her trouser or not. A short while past, and Phoebe felt Max reach around her waist, grasping at the belt keeping her kegs up before gently tugging on them and allowing them to slide down her legs.

The bruising around her legs were that bad that even stepping out of her trousers brought pain.

"Okay." Max breathed out. "Do you need help getting into the bath or-"

Phoebe looked over her shoulders, her brown eyes meeting Max's, a wordless plea asked within that moment.

With a gulp, Max undid Phoebe's bra with shaky hands, proud of himself for getting the clip off within one go and not hurting her as he slowly slipped down her shoulders. With her back exposed to him, Max bent down a little as he looked the other way while trying to rid Phoebe of what little fabric was covering her form.

Grasping her side, Max helped Phoebe towards the bath, her body leaning against his - needing the support. Lifting her a little, Max placed Phoebe into the bath water, trying not to look at her exposed flesh.

"Do you need my help with~"

Phoebe shook her head, hiding behind her long, stained hair as she curled back into a tight ball.

Max nodded even though she couldn't see him. "If you need me, then just call and I'll be here." He reassured, not wanting to leave but knowing he had too. Turning towards the door, Max went to walk out.

"Max..."

"Huh?" He turned back slightly, seeing Phoebe look back at him with big, sad eyes.

"I...I..." She looked as though she wanted to say something, but couldn't bring herself too.

Max smiled at his twin. "Phoebe. It's okay. I'm here if you need me."

Phoebe nodded her head and looked down. Slowly, Max walked out and closed the door. Wanting nothing more than to go back in and hold her in his arms and never let go, but he couldn't. He might have been stupid sometimes, but he knew she needed space, even if that meant away from him.

Balling his fist, Max swore to himself at that very moment.

"No matter what, Phoebe; I swear I'll protect you."

**Next chapter you'll get some more of the supposed "Shadow-Clan," and such. Once again, I'm getting a Puppy soon so updating will be hard because of training, walking, cleaning and feeding etc... Ironically, I'm calling him Max. :)**


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